Free Study Material For RRB Examination: English (Idioms and Phrases)

Free Study Material For RRB Examination

Subject : English (Idioms and Phrases)

Back out — to withdraw from a promise, contract : I felt grieved when
he backed out of his promise to help me.

Back up — to support; to sustain : He backed up his report with
relevant statistics.

Bear upon — to be relevant to : This argument does not bear upon the
subject under discussion.

Blow up — to explode : The mine blew up and all the labourers working
inside were killed.
— to reprimand or scold : If you continue to be negligent, the teacher will blow
you up.

Break down — of a car; a piece of machinery; to go wrong so that it
will not function : The car broke down on our way to Mumbai.
— to collapse; to succumb to uncontrollable weeping : She broke down completely
on hearing the news of her husband's death.
— to succumb to a nervous collapse through overwork or worry : He worked so hard
that his health broke down near the examination.

Break off — to end; to discontinue; to desist : We had to break off
our conversation when he arrived. She broke off in the middle of the story. She
did not like his nature and broke off the engagement.

Break up — to disperse; to dissolve : The college will break up for
the Puja holidays on 25th October. The meeting will break up after the President
has addressed the audience.

Bring up — to rear : Those brought up in adversity are able to cope
with life better.

Call forth — to provoke : The minister's views on the disinvestment
policy of the government called forth a good deal of bitter criticism.

Call out — to shout : I called out to him but he disappeared in the
dark.
— to announce by calling or shouting : The Manager called out to the peon that
he was being immediately fired.

Call upon — to order; to require : I was unfortunately called upon to
give evidence against him.

Carry on — to continue : If you carry on working hard, your business
will soon flourish.
— to manage : He carried on his business so well that he soon amassed a huge
fortune.

Cast away — to throw aside : You must cast away all your apprehensions
and accept the offer.

Catch up with — to overtake; to draw level : Last week I had to stay
late at the office to catch up with some pending files.

Come off — to take place : The prize distribution came off on Tuesday
last.
— to turn out successful : His speeches at the conference always came off
beautifully.

Cry down — to deprecate; to make little of : You must not
unneccessarily cry down the conduct of others.

Cry out against — to complain loudly against : The opposition parties
cried out against the fast pace of the globalisation of the Indian economy.

Cut out — designed for : Your were cut out to be a lecturer in a
college.

Drop in — to visit casually : On my way to the college, I dropped in
at Mira's place.

Drop out — As the race progressed, many children dropped out.

Fall back — to recede; to retreat : On seeing the armed guards, the
civilians fell back.

Fall down — from a higher position to a lower one : The branch gave
way and he fell down into the canal.

Fall off — to withdraw; to drop off : Some of our subscribers have
fallen off. Friends fall off in adversity.

Fall under — to come under : This colony does not fall under my
jurisdiction.

Get along — to prosper; to progress; to proceed : Well, doctor, how is
your patient getting along? It is simply impossible to get along with him.

Get on with — to live pleasantly together; to progress : How are you
getting on with your studies?

Get into — to be involved in : It is easy to get into scandals but
hard to come out unscathed.

Give in — to surrender; to yield : I gave into her repeated requests
and accepted the offer.

Give over — not to do any longer : It is time you gave over pretending
that you have access to the Prime Minister.

Go after — to follow; to pursue : The policeman went after the thief
but the latter managed to escape in the dark of the night.

Go down — to be accepted : The terrorist attack on WTC will go down in
history as one of the worst acts of terrorism.

Go without — to remain without : he is so poor that sometimes he has
to go without food.

Go by — to follow : I am sorry to disappoint you but we have to go by
the rules.
— to elapse (used of time) : Months have gone by but I have not called upon him.

Hang about — to loiter near a place : Last evening I say your friend
hanging about your house.

Hang upon — to depend upon : The success of any venture hangs upon the
seriousness with which it is undertaken.

Hold out — to endure; to refuse to yield : How long can you hold out
against starvation?
— to continue : Sugar stocks are not likely to hold out very long.
— to offer : She held out her hand to the Prince.

Hold to — abide by : Whatever resistance there might be, I will hold
to my decision.

Keep off — to ward off : His stern looks keep off the flatterers.
— to maintain : They have been trying to keep up their standard of living though
there has been a considerable decline in their income.

Keep up with — to keep pace with : You read too fast; I cannot keep up
with you.

Knock out — to win by hitting the opponent insensible in a boxing bout
: The challenger was knocked out in two minutes.